YCQC: Code Red discussionDANVILLE — The Yell County Quorum Court discussed the possibility of getting the Code Red program during its regular monthly meeting on Monday. If Yell County were to implement the Code Red program, residents who sign up will receive alerts for weather and public service announcements via text message, according to Judge Mark Thone. The cost to the county would be approximately $5,400 each year. “I think it would it would be a good value to th...

ATU accreditation possibly at riskDr. Robin E. Bowen, president of Arkansas Tech University, has said that recent actions by state lawmakers may threaten the university’s accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission. Multiple lawmakers are advancing an amendment to HB1213, which is an appropriation bill for ATU, that would explicitly require the university to shut down the Department of Diversity and Inclusion. The amendment is scheduled to be considered by the Special...

Council votes to buy parcel on West ThirdThe Russellville City Council called a special meeting Friday afternoon and approved 5-0 a resolution that would authorize Mayor Randy Horton and City Clerk Kathy Collins to enter into an agreement to purchase property on West Third Street located on the east side of the City Hall parking lot. Robert Wiley, Eric Westcott, Larry Brown, Nathan Morris and Phil Sims voted in favor of the resolution after Horton explained the property owner made an...

Prosecutor files charges against judgeLITTLE ROCK -- A special prosecutor assigned to the case of a Fifth Judicial District judge arrested in January and cited for DWI filed formal charges Friday. Jeff Rosenzweig, defense attorney for Circuit Judge William "Bill" Pearson, said the special prosecutor, Jason Barrett of Little Rock, filed charges Friday in Johnson County Circuit Court. They included three misdemeanors and one violation: Count 1, fleeing, a misdemeanor. Count 2, reckl...

Marina Way development will get special election hearingA hearing has been set in Pope County Circuit Court to discuss the lawsuit filed by the developers of a proposed assisted living facility against city officials and the Pope County Election Commission (PCEC). In a similar case, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Garland County Circuit Court decision that denied to certify a Hot Springs referendum petition on a January 2016 annexation ordinance. City Attorney Trey Smith confirmed th...

Alderman raises stink regarding odor law, againThe Russellville City Council is expected to discuss the odor ordinance enacted in July 2015 when it convenes for its March meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at City Hall. The Finance Committee will meet at 5:30. "When this was passed, something was better than nothing," Alderman Mark Tripp told the council during its March 7 agenda prep meeting. "The fact is, we want to grow. If there are elementary students in a nearby school who are holding their ...

Al Martin once called Antarctica homeWhen Al Martin retired from his previous career in 2013, he and his wife, Barb, bought a trailer in Tulsa, Okla. that was used to sell shaved ice. Consider that his previous career involved spending summers and winters in Antarctica, he laughed when asked if he bought the trailer because of the shaved ice connection. "No, that was total coincidence," he said. Martin, who sells over 30 flavors of gourmet cheesecake from the trailer at the corne...

NRC to host meeting at Arkansas Nuclear OneStaff members from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have scheduled a meeting later this month with representatives of Entergy Operations to discuss the 2016 safety performance of Arkansas Nuclear One (ANO). A press release indicated the Column 1 meeting has been set for 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 23, at the Reeves E. Richie Training Center, located at 1448 State Highway 333, Russellville. The public will be invited to observe the me...

Agency investigating AT&T outagePope County's 911 Emergency Communications director said Thursday he did not know of any local calls that were affected Wednesday night when AT&T cellular customers could not dial 911 in case they had an emergency. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said Wednesday night via Twitter that the government agency will look into the "root cause" of the outage that affected AT&T customers throughout the country and...

WikiLeaks CIA files: Are they real and are they a risk?Associated Press WASHINGTON -- WikiLeaks has published thousands of documents that the anti-secrecy organization said were classified files revealing scores of secrets about CIA hacking tools used to break into targeted computers, cellphones and even smart TVs. The CIA and the Trump administration have declined to comment on the authenticity of the files. Prior WikiLeaks releases, which divulged government secrets maintained by the State Depar...

Dardanelle OKs wastewater monitoring systemDARDANELLE — The Dardanelle City Council approved a monitoring system and a resolution, and renewed a water sales contract during its regular meeting Monday at City Hall. Aldermen approved a SCATA monitoring system for the sewer lift stations and sewer treatment plant in the amount of $23,671 from Serv-Atron in North Little Rock. Bill Smith, water department head, said this will be the first time the city has a monitoring system for the Sewer ...

Committee wants to give additional $40,000 to AllianceThe Russellville City Council's Finance Committee agreed to amend the city's agreement and add up to $40,000 to the Arkansas Valley Alliance for Economic Development (AVAED) for a position that will include grant writing and economic development. Paul Harvel, Alliance president, said during Tuesday's meeting that he wanted to request that the position, discussed by aldermen since last year, be under the Alliance but would work mostly for the c...

Pottsville zoning commission OKs three permitsPOTTSVILLE — The Pottsville Planning and Zoning Commission approved three permits during its meeting Monday. A request from Aaron Baker [Mike Gray] with Industrial Power Inc. for an addition to its building on Sweeden Road was approved. Jason Bull’s request to build a storage building on State Highway 247 next to the Randy Tucker subdivision was granted. A request by Randy Tucker for property at 5150 State Highway 247 was also approved. In oth...

Sales tax bill would hit municipalitiesA bill introduced by a state representative in the Arkansas Legislature would have detrimental results when municipalities tried to pass a sales tax or conducted a vote to renew a current tax. If the bill becomes law, it would require a supermajority or two-thirds of voters to approve a sales tax election or renew a current sales tax. What if that was the law when the city's one-cent sales tax was extended in 2013? That would mean no aquatic c...

Overtime talks heat upPope County Justices of the Peace discussed at length an ordinance that addressed overtime payment to county employees during their February meeting Thursday at the courthouse. When it was all said and done, JPs agreed that the ordinance should go back to the Personnel Committee until some research could be done. Ben Cross said the ordinance was drafted after previous discussion and JPs thought it needed to be short and sweet. "We are not tryi...

Hearing for Circuit Judge Pearson to be rescheduledA hearing in Johnson County for a circuit court judge, originally scheduled for Friday in Clarksville, will be rescheduled after a special prosecutor was assigned to the case. Jeff Rosenzweig, defense attorney for Circuit Judge William "Bill" Pearson, said Friday that Jason Barrett of Little Rock had been named the special prosecutor for the case by special judge John Langston. Rosenzweig said the three spoke by telephone this week and determi...

Commission to conduct police testing todayThe Russellville Civil Service Commission set their schedule for Police Department testing today. About 37 applicants had applied and were expected to undergo the physical and written exams. Chairwoman Toni Bachman asked various commissioners to be more involved and watch the different areas of the physical ability test (PAT), which begins at 8 a.m. at the police training facility off of Airport Road. The test is a timed event which requires r...

City Corp. board gets rate study updatesThe City Corporation Board of Directors received updated studies on its water and wastewater rates during their February meeting Tuesday. Dan Jackson told the board and audience that good news is created by some utilities, even though City Corporation's board and personnel had to make some difficult decisions during the past few years. That included a multi-year rate plan introduced in 2014 that implemented specific annual adjustments through ...

Pope County Quorum Court meets ThursdayThe Pope County Quorum Court will meet directly after the Budget Committee meeting today inside the courthouse. The Budget Committee will convene at 5 p.m. Following the monthly report from Treasurer Larry Holman, the Budget Committee will consider a request from Judge Jim Ed Gibson for $875.85 for the parking lot at the new Veterans Park. Sheriff’s Capt. Rowdy Sweet is scheduled to discuss renovating the dish room at the Detention Center. Cir...

Digital government created 20 years agoCan you imagine a world where you couldn’t pay taxes, renew your tags or conduct a criminal background check online? That world existed two decades ago. The state of Arkansas didn’t even have a website for citizens or businesses to gather information or conduct transactions. In 1997, seven people representing the Information Network of Arkansas (INA) created the state’s first government website for the few who could access the internet through...